Gomez – “Airstream Driver”

Gomez have been around since 1997, finding most of their fame and praise in good ol’ Europe. They’ve put out a bunch of albums that I don’t own. I’ve been a good lapdog and gotten their last few, though, finding that they are a good listen. The most recent is 2009’s A New Tide. The main reason they haven’t made a breakthrough here is because they operate a bit oddly for a normal rock band, indie or not. Most bands have one songwriter/mastermind/diabolical pop machine that creates the groups basic tracks, having everyone else add to it later. If those individual styles mesh well to the kind of songs this person writes, the music produced is considered good and the band slowly gets famous. Usually, that is…

Gomez is comprised of four songwriters. This means that four different people, each with a different writing style and different taste in music, are writing individual tracks going toward a whole album. On top of that, three of them sing the songs they write, leading to a band that sounds completely different track to track, covering different genres and themes on the same album. While I concur that this is pretty unique and cool, it unfortunately leads to a band that is very hard to pin down and love. When a person likes a song, they want to hear more songs sung by the same person, with the same feel, and in the same format/genre. If this doesn’t happen, the band becomes a one-hit wonder, or at best has a small niche audience. I believe Gomez to be that kind of band…

Even though they have achieved a loyal fan base in the UK, the US seems to have mostly ignored them. As for this song, though, something magical happens every time I put it on or even think about it. The melody is so simple and catchy that it gets stuck inside of your being, and ends up coming out through your day. This song has the power to change a mood, gosh darn it! It’s got a slow burn drive to it with a hint of psychedelic goodness to keep things interesting too. “Airstream Driver” has either more groove than soul, or more soul than groove. I can’t tell and that’s the best part.

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Hey there! My name's Chris and I'm from New Jersey. Music is kinda my thing, so I figured 'why not write about it?' I hope to spread music that isn't radio garbage, no matter how obscure. I promise not to be too biased (no hipster BS here!) and to keep an open mind, and I ask that you do too. Enjoy!

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